That Aud Smell

One thing seems certain: The Bills will need to release Tre White. Cap hit of $16M, but dead money of only $4M. Perhaps he'd re-sign here after being released? I'm not sure a restructure would even make sense. Total bummer, since he's one of my all-time favourite Bills.

https://billswire.usatoday.com/lists/buffalo-bills-offseason-needs-2024-brandon-beane-stefon-diggs-nfl/ DT DaQuan Jones, LB Leonard Floyd, DE Jordan Phillips, DE Shaq Lawson, DE A.J. Epenesa, DT Tim Settle, DT Linval Joseph, DT Poona Ford, S Micah Hyde, S Taylor Rapp, and CB Dane Jackson are among the Bills’ unrestricted free agents.

ALSO: We don't yet know what the 2024 cap will be.

These are good questions! I have no real idea how the NFL cap works. I hear all the time that it's "not real." I think that overstates matters a bit. Chickens do eventually come home to roost. Here's a screenshot of a chart that Pro Football Focus published in late January. The first red number is cap space. The second red number is "effective cap space." The third number is "active cap spending." The fourth number is "dead money." https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-salary-cap-tracker-2024-offseason-free-agency-all-32-nfl-teams-ranked-cap-space

Also, I have no idea why the letters STA entered into our GIF service return such an interesting group of images (in motion).

I await good news on the WR acquisition front. No more of this Deonte Harty b.s. either.

See ya, 2023!

Less than sanguine, for sure. And this team could use a player who's truly bilious. I always enjoyed references to the auld quack science surrounding "the four humours" (blood, "phlegm" (not what we would call phlegm today), and ... 2 kinds of bile (yellow and ... something else)).

I'm linking it here, since it's difficult for me to come up with a decent 50 cent word unless inspired to do so.

There's a difference between being derivative and being an aggregator that judiciously deploys content you've learned along the way.

Nah - @PASabreFan drops those gems all on his own, afaict. It's why he swooned when someone characterized the power play as execrable. Still counts.

I see this take a lot. It makes me squint my eyes and think: "Find Josh his first-ballot-HOF, position-transforming tight end" (or other catcher of footballs). Okey dokey.

I'll agree with you on the coaching front -- clear advantage to the Chiefs there. I haven't taken a look at the cap issues the team will confront -- but that must be true, I'm sure. That said, I have a sneaking suspicion that, on balance, the Bills' roster will be as good or even slightly better next year. They will take steps back in some places, but should be able to get better in others. One thing that they likely won't repeat is the overall health that the offence enjoyed in 2023. That was remarkable. I guess the injuries on the defence sort of balanced things out in that regard.

Pardon me if I'm cutting in: Anyone care to share a take on where Power is in terms of development and/or how he projects as an NHLer? I've mostly stopped paying attention to how the team and players perform. But given that they've committed to the guy long-term, I am curious to get perspectives on where he's at, where he may be headed. For my part, he generally makes me say meh.

Imo, of all the teams that the Chiefs faced in the playoffs, the Bills looked the most capable of beating them (and, sure as eggs is eggs, I damn sure thought the Bills were gonna do it!). (Yeah, yeah - the 49ers took the Chiefs to OT. Even so.)

This squares with my memory. I recall the discussion here about how the scouting department was being gutted, whether the Sabres were going to the "video scouting" model, the role that analytics would play in creating player evaluation efficiencies (Karmanos? (sp?)), and so on. This would also square with Adams' having assembled talent but not built a team.

Hmm. Interesting. I'd lost sight of that dynamic surrounding the hiring of GM KA.

Agreed. I've posted here about the Sabres having too much of the same kind(s) of guy(s). "Good vibes only." GM KA has assembled talent. He has not built a team.

How you say ... that does not ... pass the smell test.

This is perfectly stated. I feel like there was a hit on a Sabre back in the 2005-2007 window that was like this one (when the rules and norms were different, of course). Reflexively, I want to say that Connolly was on the wrong end of it. Pominville perhaps? Same idea: Player on offence is stretching, reaching as they enter the zone, and their head is therefore low, and the defending player is coming through to deliver a big bodycheck.

This makes sense. Interestingly, there are parallels to other sports. In my experience, highly competitive youth soccer teams and leagues involve less (or even no) cheap sh1t and minimal drama from the sidelines. The lower level the play gets, the more nasty stuff you see from players and, Lord help us, the worse the behaviour of the parents on the sidelines.